June 2003 Archives

There they were in the 2nd round of the 2003 NBA Draft with the 52nd pick overall. Still available, surprisingly, was Carl English, the kid from Patrick's Cove, Newfoundland. This is a no brainer, right? Draft the Canadian kid from the rock and give the fans something to get excited about with an otherwise underwhelming 2nd round selection in a shallow draft. And the Raptors choose with the 52nd pick of the 2003 NBA Draft...Remon Van de Hare. Who?

The basketball gods shone down upon our Raptors and kept Carl English available just so Grunwald could select some Dutchman playing in Spain. They sure blew it.

We've been through some pretty crappy stuff of late. 9/11, the West Nile Virus, the death of Layne Staley, terrorist threats, a way cold winter, the war in Iraq, SARS, Mad Cow Disease, SARS II... If I want to BBQ in my backyard every day of the week, I dare you to try and stop me.

There's nothing finer than firing up the Q and chillin' in the backyard. If you're looking to pin the blame for these smog days on someone, look no further. I am the rebel with the courage to look Jim Wilson in the eye and say, "how do you like your burgers?"

Canada bashing has become a popular sport of late. With no defense to speak of and an unwillingness to follow our giant neighbours to the south on their way into Iraq, we've been labeled as traitors and worse.

As I see it, we were right. Sure our Prime Minister comes across as an arrogant buffoon at times, but he wanted to see "da proof" that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and he wasn't buying what Powell was selling. "Da proof" wasn't there. It turns out Chretien was right. If Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, rest assured they'd have been discovered by now. Canada's conscious is clear.

Furthermore, the wheels are in motion to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. The US doesn't like it, but we don't care. Smoking a little weed won't get you a criminal record and this is a good, sensible thing. Canada progresses and leaves America in it's smoke trails.

Finally, Chretien said last week that he wouldn't challenge the ruling from Ontario's Supreme Court that same-sex marriages were legal. Here, here. Homosexuality is not a crime. It's time a gay person is granted the same rights as a straight person. Canada becomes the third nation in the world to allow same-sex marriages and I've never been so proud.

2003 is almost half over and in my opinion it's been a landmark year for Canadian independence and pride. In a previous blog entry on Victoria Day, I mentioned it's time we stop acting like Britain's bitch. Well, from what this Canadian sees, we're no longer going to be America's bitch either.

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. With what, we're not sure, but if I want to marry a dude and smoke a fatty to celebrate, it's all good.

It's almost July 1st, and that means it's time to put the finishing touches on the playlist for Smells Like Sour 9.

What the heck is Smells Like Sour? Fair question. Smells Like Sour is "released" twice a year just prior to Christmas and Canada Day. It's essentially 80 minutes of what the SLS committee deems to be the best tunage released in the previous six months.

It hasn't been a strong half-year for music. Sure we had The White Stripes and some decent new releases from Audioslave, Disturbed, System of a Down and Finger Eleven, but not a lot of mind-blowing stuff. Evanescence will definitely show up on the latest SLS, but CFNY is doing their best to ensure we in the GTA never have to endure an Evanescence-less hour of radio.